Spring Weather

 Capture the feeling

 of spring weather 

swirling from sun to rain

 to wind and back again.   (Oil 30X30)                                                                                                                                                                                  

See it at Blue Whole  Art Gallery

Translucent Entry

 Painting a sunny watercolor on
a gray day cheers me right up, come in out of the wet and cold.

Salmon Run Coho

        My work has  always involved the Elements and Principles of Designs  in ways that are very hard to define since art really isn't a science and trying to manipulate it into  an  orderly  process can be a creativity killer.
     Value,color, line, shape, direction, size and  texture  are art's  tools not the medium and materials .
Even an artist can't have them all at one time in one painting or piece of pottery or a clothes or house or whatever .So the trick is to decide what to use to best express the needs of a picture.
       In Salmon Run  shape and  direction work with color and texture to create the depth and flow of water and repetition of shapes. It also is an effort to have the viewer look beyond the surface, getting past the white riffles to see the shallow depth and clarity of the water and  enjoy the complimentary purple /yellow colors.
        I hope to draw your eye in.

       

claythingsplus by Carol Janda: Music of the Spheres

claythingsplus by Carol Janda: Music of the Spheres: This painting can be viewed horizontally or vertically.  As vertical it has a different feeling of space and atmosphere,depth and distance,...

Music of the Spheres

This painting can be viewed horizontally or vertically.  As vertical it has a different feeling of space and atmosphere,depth and distance, as opposed to the orchestra  and the audience.

          Music of the Spheres (watercolor gouache and acrylic 12x18 on watercolor paper)

It  began as a study of movement ,line and color, using a limited  palette of complimentary color.  When my friends responded they all liked this  horizontal view which looked like a stage or amphitheater. Once it is viewed one way, it's interesting  to accept the changed feeling the atmospheric view.

.Abstract work engages the viewer in ways that are different from the realistic scenes; it challenges and connects to our conscience  which might frustrate, confuse or question or even irritate .

Abstract Mixed Media

Experimentation is always interesting sometimes frustrating and often leaves me wondering what
others see in my abstract pieces. Letting images just happen  from a feeling or concept challenges that part of me that says I need to know what I'm doing.   I've always loved realistic landscape and flowers for the pleasure of being accurate, reproducing a better than photographic aliveness , pointing out what I like  about the subject.
       I called this Morning Meditation, it had that half awake quietness before the day starts, things out of focus, blurry and sleepy. .
                                    Acrylic, gouache and watercolor on watercolor paper. 15x21"
                                                           

Prints of the Peninsula

    Over many years of hiking , wondering and even flying I have collected many scenes of the  Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park.

    Many of these original watercolors  have sold but I have reproduced them as prints and cards using  a  printer which has color fast inks.  Giclee' ,to spray, is the term used to  indicate the color fastness of  inks in modern printers now available to artists.

     This control of  the reproductions allows the artist to represent  the original accurately at very reasonable cost.

Bird Ladies

Two  Bird Ladies, hand built figures  with birds made in a press mold fired at cone 6 mid range stoneware . The one with legs has  dowels set into the base to support the body of the figure.
     A previous blog showed the entire group from last winter, each lady has her own personality with birds ,flowers or a small vase built in.
 

Charcoal Float Drawing

 Natural abstraction :

Powdered charcoal on water color paper enhanced by a bit of tan and organized by a few black directional lines and very subtle value changes, expressed the icy puddles in my back alley. The mystery of the orange  is a cherry tree leaf  but I hope it causes the eye to ask a question and explore the rest of the design.  I always wanted to paint something with that wonderful color of the fall cherry tree leaves.

NEW CLAY WORK

My ladies are ready for the Blue Whole Show this  May.

Show at Blue Whole in May

For the news release I expressed how lucky I am to have the energy and creative drive to enjoy painting and pottery using the things I've studied for years.  The study has always been part of the pleasure, bringing up challenges and things to try. Art isn't just one thing, it sort of is everything,and it's my opportunity to know and show myself.
Some of the new work is shown on past blogs, hope you will take a look.  Thanks

Fog and Spider Web

Fog and Spider Web
Watercolor works well for fog, it's soft, transparent, muted and has soft edges which allow the eye to move easily from area to area unlike  to the spider web with its definite structure.  This was fun .. 

Peninsula Creek

Watercolors has a special ability to capture the mood of a place, to express the its feel , the shimmer of water and the dappling of shadowed light , the mood of color and its quietness.

Age Old Challenge in Old Age

   As I get older I'm realizing the value of things I used to take for granted, like knowing exactly the right word.   I just finished three 6x8 inch value studies  of rock carnes, They captured that special feeling  of satisfaction which is such a pleasure when a painting completely absorbs me.
I had been studying abstract work for the last couple years, trying to  apply my knowledge of watercolor and  the elements and principles of design.  In a sense all art is abstract and there  is no set  formula for what works.    Kindness, the  beauty of nature and simple things can express so much.

If the values are right , everything else will be okay.

 

The Olympic Peninsula, Washington State USA

Watercolor paintings of Olympic National Park, Most have been sold and are available as Glicee' prints  at 11x14 and 16x 20 with mat and backing  

 Kalaloch Beach, First Beach at LaPush, Ruby Beach (looking south)and  

Cape Alava Aerial View. are unsold originals

New Pottery for October Window at Blue Whole Art Gallery

Getting pottery ready  for a show is a big project
since there are  several steps, make the piece- bisque fire it,
 glaze it and -fire it again to stoneware.

These are some of the earlier single cats made on the potters wheel

 and refined, they all have their own personality..naturally, as they are cats :)

The new cats were designed to hold a candle in the center 

and  flowers in the cats..or both. 

Oil Painting on Oil Monotype Backgrounds

Oil monotypes lend themselves to interesting textures and color mixes which can be used as the beginning of a more realistic painting. Since the monotype has a

dry smooth surface they work very well.

The Iris is an example of several plate runs in the warm tone background a second smaller plate run which has some abstract hand painted areas with the Iris on the third"layer".
   
  As much as I love watercolor it's  nice to challenge myself with oils.

The Mermaid

Oil monotypes  sometimes suggest a subject
which is unusual for the artist.  The background for the figure was created  by spraying the plexi glass plate with solvent and running it through the press to lift the residue of paint .  No amount of brush work could achieve that background.

Plum Shino Glaze

    New glaze combinations  ,Shino Gold over  Plum  using wax reset

Plum-Shino

What's Happened and Happening

I took a break after a fall and the ensuing activities  from it.  I'm back, the shoulder onto which I landed is almost normal, I was "lucky"  that no bones were broken but it lead to a serious retina detachment surgery and eventually cataract surgery. Since November last year until now.I have been inactive with the Blog and FB.
     My pottery and painting continue to be my pleasure , did a bit of watercolor teaching and have challenged myself to abstracts and oil painting.

 Ranger Station at Crescent Lake  

Using sketches, color notes and photos to paint in my home studio, oils have such a wonderful difference from watercolor , it makes me rethink a lot of the process of painting.